Calligraphy: A Complete Lettering Kit for Beginners

Rating:
Summary: Not really *complete* but could be worse
Review: I was excited to get a 'complete' kit for beginners, as that is what I am to calligraphy--a total novice. Instead of being pleased, I am mostly annoyed that I need to go out and buy a whole new "beginner's kit" of all the things this one is lacking.

The Pros:
* The booklet is small and gets to the point. There is not lengthy history of calligraphy as an art form to wade through before you get to the actual instruction.
* The construction of the "book" (actually a book shape that holds the booklet and all of the pens) is very good. I haven't lost any of the pieces yet.
* The pens seem to offer the experienced beginner several options with nib size and colored inks.

The Cons:
* The booklet tells you about letter spacing in one paragraph. So it is insinuated that "round" letters should be bigger than the other letters so that they appear truly round, but you only get one example, and it never comes up again. There should have been a practice sheet with a few vertical lines as well as horizontal, to help you get the hang of the spacing.
* The booklet does not show you the letterforms as they should be sized in relation to the practice sheet. Again, you get one example showing you the relative height of capital and lowercase letters, but you don't get to see a whole alphabet sized up against the practice sheet gridlines.
* The most frustrating thing: there is a single sheet of paper with gridlines, that you place under the practice paper--but the "practice" paper is so heavy that you cannot see through it! You can only see through the nicer parchment that is provided. So I have used up all of my parchment with practice work.
* The alphabets in the book are very simple (good for a beginner) but also very boring--I would have liked to see at least one really beautiful curvy alphabet at the end to look forward to...
* Beginners are encouraged to use the felt-tipped pen to get the hang of letterforms before moving on to the nib pens--so why not have two felt pens (a thick and a thin) and two nib pens instead of only one thick felt and three nibs?--I am still just a beginner!
* There are no instructions for how to clean the pens or switch from one colored ink to another. There must be tricks or techniques that I should be using.

Final thoughts: This was a great idea that was poorly executed. I think beginners would be more frustrated by their limitations with this set than inspired to progress.

I am buying a couple of Margaret Shephard books to get (a) more alphabets, and (b) more in-depth spacing and construction help, as well as trying to track down a big pad of practice paper and some more felt pens.

Rating:
Summary: Not really *complete* but could be worse
Review: I was excited to get a 'complete' kit for beginners, as that is what I am to calligraphy--a total novice. Instead of being pleased, I am mostly annoyed that I need to go out and buy a whole new "beginner's kit" of all the things this one is lacking.

The Pros:
* The booklet is small and gets to the point. There is not lengthy history of calligraphy as an art form to wade through before you get to the actual instruction.
* The construction of the "book" (actually a book shape that holds the booklet and all of the pens) is very good. I haven't lost any of the pieces yet.
* The pens seem to offer the experienced beginner several options with nib size and colored inks.

The Cons:
* The booklet tells you about letter spacing in one paragraph. So it is insinuated that "round" letters should be bigger than the other letters so that they appear truly round, but you only get one example, and it never comes up again. There should have been a practice sheet with a few vertical lines as well as horizontal, to help you get the hang of the spacing.
* The booklet does not show you the letterforms as they should be sized in relation to the practice sheet. Again, you get one example showing you the relative height of capital and lowercase letters, but you don't get to see a whole alphabet sized up against the practice sheet gridlines.
* The most frustrating thing: there is a single sheet of paper with gridlines, that you place under the practice paper--but the "practice" paper is so heavy that you cannot see through it! You can only see through the nicer parchment that is provided. So I have used up all of my parchment with practice work.
* The alphabets in the book are very simple (good for a beginner) but also very boring--I would have liked to see at least one really beautiful curvy alphabet at the end to look forward to...
* Beginners are encouraged to use the felt-tipped pen to get the hang of letterforms before moving on to the nib pens--so why not have two felt pens (a thick and a thin) and two nib pens instead of only one thick felt and three nibs?--I am still just a beginner!
* There are no instructions for how to clean the pens or switch from one colored ink to another. There must be tricks or techniques that I should be using.

Final thoughts: This was a great idea that was poorly executed. I think beginners would be more frustrated by their limitations with this set than inspired to progress.

I am buying a couple of Margaret Shephard books to get (a) more alphabets, and (b) more in-depth spacing and construction help, as well as trying to track down a big pad of practice paper and some more felt pens.